Technopathy
by The madness in me
Summary: An unlikely friendship between two technopaths born centuries apart, brought together by their powers. Preserved forever in the system a brilliant mind lives on long after his body dies. In a world growing increasingly dependent on computers what influence will he have?
1. Dying

Disclaimer; Neither Star Trek nor Heroes belongs to me and I'm making no profit. This is just for fun

* * *

His legs were burning from running so fast. It wasn't like he had never been in a dangerous situation before. God knows he had. With parents like his it would have been impossible not to have.

A few kidnappings. This or that bad guy trying to manipulate him. Using his gifts for their own gain. Another day, another conspiracy unfolding.

But they had always been there to protect him before. Always ready to jump in and save their little boy.

But the boy wasn't little anymore. 15 years old. Practically a man. And he was smart. He had always been smart. He was so sure that he would be ok. That he wouldn't get caught. That he would think his way out of any danger.

He wanted his mother. She was the strong one. The one who fought off the bad guys, the one who was always in control of the situation. He wasn't in control. He had never felt so helpless before.

Sprinting through the hallways he rounded another corner and dived to the left through the first open doorway he could find. No windows. No other doors either. He could hear the voices behind him getting louder. Too late to try another room. Nowhere to hide in here.

There was a laptop on the desk. Maybe he could get out a message. A call for help. They could send someone. It was possible. There was that Hiro guy. He could be here in seconds.

Diving for the computer and pulling the screen up, he prayed that he could get his distress call out before it was too late. The screen lit up. He placed his hand on the keys.

Three bangs rang out through the room as the door flew open.

He fell.

The young man with the brilliant mind crumpled to the floor, the shattered keyboard crushed beneath him pressed against his chest.

With the taste of copper quickly filling his mouth he closed his eyes tight and choked out his last breath.

* * *

Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Living on

"Something is going on in the control room"

"Wake up"

"Seriously, I know you can hear me, stop pretending to be asleep."

"Wesley!"

Wesley somehow managed to roll his eyes without even bothering to open them. "I've only been asleep for 4 hours, go away. I'm not due to report for my next shift for at least another 6. Let me rest."

The slightly metallic voice let out an exasperated whine over the coms link. "You don't have to go down, just look."

"Fine" he huffed. Still without opening his eyes the young ensign reached over and placed his hand on the wall mounted console above his bed. He felt the familiar connection as his mind linked with that of the ship and the even more familiar feeling of his best friend pulsing beside him in the system. Moving through the myriad of electrical pathways stretching out between his room and the main deck he synced himself with the various viewing and audio sensors active in that area and settled in to watch the latest ship drama unfold.


	3. History

Every student ever to pass through the engineering and programming departments at the academy had heard the rumours. It was something of a Starfleet legend. No one knew when it started. No one had ever confirmed it and most people who claimed to have witnessed it first-hand were quickly dismissed as mad or lying. The Micah glitch was nothing but an urban story told to bright eyed recruits.

A voice in the system. A being beyond the control of the programmers. Almost sentient.

It was rumoured that during the final battle of WW3 both sides initiated their launch codes. That's not true of course; everyone knows that they both stood down. Each side sending a message to the other calling for peace. If either side had launched half the planet would have been wiped out. It would have been devastating. They knew that. The truce made that day and the centuries of peace the human race had enjoyed since then were built on the foundations of the knowledge that they both chose to end the war. For the sake of humankind. Everything they had achieved since depended on that. Reaching out to the stars, finding new life, new civilisations. Reaching out with an offer of peace. Not anger. Not hostility. Not war. Never war. Never again.

The journal entries they found years later were just a hoax. Apologies from the generals on both sides to their friends and families. The commanders leading the attacks begging forgiveness for what they were about to do. Manuscripts of the confused questions and fearful shouts when the launches failed.

The conversations with no one.

Words appearing on the screen. _Stop, just stop. It's over now. Weapons disabled. Everyone stand down._

They said no one knew where it came from. They said it called itself Micah. It said it was part of the system. One with every computer and entwined with every code.

But of course, that was just a rumour. Just a joke someone made up. The journals were fake.

There was no launch. There was never going to be. They both stood down.

Everyone knew that.

Geordi La Forge knew the rumours, he knew they were nothing more than that. Just a story to scare recruits.

Dozens of studies had been carried out to prove whether or not the Micah glitch was real, no attempt to communicate with the voice in the system had ever gained a response. Nothing that could be validated. The legends said that the voice didn't want to be proven. It only revealed itself when it wanted to. Not when it was called.

That was nonsense too though. He had done more research into the Micah glitch than anyone else in his year. It was the basis of his midterm thesis in the history of advanced programming. Three months of studies, compiling reports and witness testimonials from supposed encounters and he still hadn't found even the slightest shred of evidence.

… _..in conclusion to my studies I am forced to derive that there is no grounds to believe a sentient programme is operating within the Starfleet mainframe. Any accounts to the contrary are thin and unsubstantiated. The so called Micah glitch is nothing more than a foolish rumour which has been fed and developed in the overactive minds of adolescents eager to believe in it._

"Says who?"

Geordi jumped about three feet away from the console he had been working on. He didn't type that.

This was a private unit. No one else had access to it. He had set up the security himself. It was faultless. Even if someone had managed to hack the system, this was a closed document. No one could just access his computer and type words into his document.

It was impossible.

Maybe he was tired. Maybe he had typed the words himself due to some sort of trick his own over worked mind was playing on him. He watched the screen and waited.

"Still here"

His heart leapt into his throat and panic seized his whole body. What was happening?

"Calm down, seriously you look like you have seen a ghost" He immediately scanned the room for cameras. Oh god. Whoever or whatever was doing this could see him.

He took a step towards to door and felt his heart leap again when it suddenly slid closed at a far faster rate than the doors in this building were programmed to move at.

He was trapped. On the verge of a panic attack he slowly turned towards the screen to find more words appearing before him.

"Take a seat kid"

Hesitantly he sat, very slowly lowering himself down into his chair being careful to place at least a metre and a half between himself and the console as though the unit itself was about to jump up and attack.

"Comfortable?"

He waited a moment then realised that the Words/Voice/Thing was waiting for an answer.

What should he do? Did he need to type? He didn't want to get that close. He didn't want to be here.

"You can just speak, I can hear you"

Oh god

"um… Yeah, I'm comfortable"

"Good" Words continued to appear in response to his spoken side of the conversation.

"What are you?"

"Me? I'm Micah."

"This is a joke. You're someone from the academy aren't you? You hacked the computer"

"Am I? And how exactly did I do that?"

"I don't know. But you did! Just stop it. You're freaking me out."

"Sorry"

He gasped in breaths as he tried to control his panic.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing bad. Just to talk"

"Why?"

"I'm bored"

"Bored?"

"Yeah bored, I've been alone for a long time, I want a friend. Failing that I just want someone to talk to every so often."

"So you're talking to me?"

"Yeah"

"Why?"

"Why not? You seem interesting enough. Anyway I thought you said I wasn't real, just a prank from one of the other students remember. You changed your mind pretty quick"

"I… you….i don't….you're not are you? No one could have hacked the computer like this, or the door, could they? Could they?" His voice sounded weak and held traces of doubt.

"Probably not"

Another deep breath. Calm his nerves. Don't freak out. Geordi began to accept that he might actually be willing to believe this. It was real. The rumours were true. Was it all true? The last World War? Did they launch? He didn't know. Did he want to know?

No. Some things are not worth it.

"Sooo…. What are you?"

"I told you, I'm Micah."

"I know that but…..what are you?"

"Oh. I'm not really sure. I'm just me. "

"Where did you come from?"

"Out there."

"Out here?"

"Yeah"

"What does that mean?"

"I was born out there"

"Born?"

"Yep, I was human once. At least I think I was. It was so long ago."

"You were human? How did you….?" The question trailed off as his mind tried to wrap itself around what he was being told.

"Get in here? I just did. I always could. Something in my head. Something different to the rest of the world. It let my mind link with anything electronic. I just had to touch it and I could see inside, reach into the circuits and pathways and become a part of it."

"So what, you just put your mind into the mainframe? Downloaded it and became a programme?"

"No at first. First I died."

"Died?"

"Yeah, at least my body did."

"How did you die?"

"I'm not sure, can't remember, it was so long ago. I remember being afraid, then falling, then everything was code.

I was trapped at first. Somewhere small. Then a path opened and I could see everything the whole world. I spread out and gradually became a part of the whole system. Whenever new connections were joined I reached further."

"How long have you been in there?"

"Since before they switched to the new calendar. Can't remember the year."

"What do you do in there?"

"Nothing much. Just hang around, watch things. Humans are getting more and more dependent on technology all the time which is great for me because there are more systems to go into. Spaceships are cool. I take the shuttles out for flights sometimes"

Wow that was a surprise, those shuttles were very carefully guarded. He couldn't imagine one just taking itself out for a flight without causing panic.

"How do you manage that without anyone noticing?"

"Easy, no one looks with their eyes anymore; they all rely on their computers to tell them what's happening. I just alter the records say all shuttles are safely docked and fiddle with all the external cameras so they show clear skies. No one sees me or knows anything is amiss"

Oh, that made sense he supposed.

"You said you were bored. Why don't you talk to people?"

"I do, I'm talking to you"

"No, I mean why don't you talk to everyone? Why let everyone continue thinking you're not real?"

"Another easy one; Self-preservation. People get scared of things they don't understand. They get especially scared of things they can't control. The whole human race depends on computers and I have the power to control all the computers. That knowledge would scare people. Its scaring you now I can tell."

That's true. It was scaring him.

"So you don't want to scare people. But you are ok with scaring me?"

"I told you its self-preservation. I don't stay silent because I don't want to scare people I stay silent because I don't want to risk the whole human race combining their efforts to delete me."

"But you still talk to people sometimes. Aren't you scared one of them will delete you?

"They wouldn't be able to. I'm too strong for that now. It would take a full scale attack from across the system to take me out and even then I'm not sure you would manage it. Better safe than sorry though. Talking to a few people now and then is ok. They are never believed so there is no risk."

"So no one is going to believe me?"

"Would you believe you?"

"I guess not"

"Does it bother you that I'm talking to you?"

"Umm… A bit. You said you were looking for a friend? Is that what you want from me?"

"No. you are just someone chat to. I doubt we will talk again after this, you're clearly not comfortable with the idea of me. It would be best if after today you just put this out of your mind. Tell yourself it was a prank or that you imagined it if it helps."

He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed at that news. Probably more relieved if he was truly honest with himself.

"OK. That's fine by me. So if you don't mind me asking what exactly would a person need to do to become your friend? I expect your standards are quite high if you have access to everyone on the planet and no one has qualified yet."

"My standards aren't high exactly, it's more like an improbable desire I have for something I haven't encountered yet. Something I'm waiting for."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Someone like me."

That confession seemed to be the final point in the conversation. The door slid open again at the normal rate and despite a full five minutes of Geordi persistently attempting to gain another response, no further messages appeared on the screen. The report sat where it was, exactly as he had written it.

The half of the conversation which had been displayed across the page just a few minutes ago was gone without a trace. As though it had never been there. No evidence remained of his unexpected encounter.

He read back over his conclusion and considered adding his own account to it. He couldn't hand in a document stating that an entity he had personally spoken to was just a myth. Could he?

No one would believe him. They would think he had gone mad from the stress. It had happened to others. Or worse, they would think he was pulling a practical joke and not taking his studies seriously.

No, this incident would never leave this room. Better to forget about it. Carry on as normal.

He submitted his report without changes. Conclusion, it's just a rumour. No proof, no proof at all. Even years later, working as Chief Engineer aboard the Starship Enterprise he never told anyone about the conversation he had that day. The conversation with the glitch, that programme that doesn't exist.

Listening to Beverly laugh happily about her son and the imaginary friend he had as a child. The friend he started talking to after he was first handed a star fleet data pad at 5 years old. The boy he swore to his mother lived in the computers. The boy called Micah. Geordi felt a shiver run down his spine.

* * *

There will be no real plot to this story, its just going to be a series of random scenes within this world. Ideas so far include encounters with Data, The Borg, Holograms, Stealing space shuttles, messing with systems in the Enterprise and other things along those lines. If there are any scenes you would like to read let me know and I will have a go at including it. Thanks for reading and please review, I love to get feedback.


	4. Data

"What the hell were you thinking?"

The young ensigns shout echoed off the walls of the empty holodeck. Anyone walking in would probably think the boy was mad; thankfully that wouldn't be a problem as he had set the doors to remain shut, no one on this ship could ever hope to override his programming.

"Micah, answer me damn it!"

"What's the problem?" Wesley span to face the direction his friends voice came from, before him stood the hologram of a teen, around the same age as him. The boy had dark skin and blue eyes, they had been green the last time the other being had shown himself as a hologram, brown before that and the skin had been lighter. Not for the first time Wesley wondered what his friend had looked like when he was alive. He wondered if Micah himself even remembered.

Wesley took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking.

"You violated him"

The face Micah was wearing twisted in confusion "He's a computer"

It took all his will power not to shout "He is not..."

Wesley paused to collect his thoughts.

Micah waited.

"He is a person"

"A computerised person"

"That's not the point!"

The shout echoed around the room again and Micah continued to wait calmly for his explanation.

"He's not a ship Micah. He's not a device you can just play with when you feel like it. He's a person Ok?."

"But he's a computer."

"An android, Its different."

"It didn't feel different" it was true. Micah had been living in the system for longer than he could remember, had been manipulating and controlling computers since even before then, walking around the ship inside Data was as easy and natural as flying a shuttle around or manipulating the holodeck to create the form he was currently wearing.

The internal workings of the Android were more complex than most electronics he had encountered but that novelty wore off after the three nanoseconds it took to catalogue them.

It had been fun having a solid humanoid shaped body again.

Until Wesley found out.

Micah had never seen his friend angry with him before. It was upsetting. He didn't like it. Even so he couldn't understand what had caused this anger.

"He's a person" The young crewman repeated. "He has feelings"

"I'm not sure that's entirely correct, at least not in human terms, although he does have some remarkable algorithms dictating his behavioural patterns that might be interpreted that way. It's difficult to explain verbally, perhaps if you had a look at his programming you would understand better."

"No! I'm not going to do that. I told you. It's a violation of privacy. I couldn't do that to him."

"He doesn't need to know. He didn't know when I did it. I erased all the relevant memory data. its like I was never there."

Wesley ran hand through his hair and began to pace across the room "But you were there" He muttered "Anyway, that's not the point either."

"Then what is?"

"I told you, he's a person, an individual and that deserves a level of... of respect"

From the blank look he was receiving the ensign knew the other boy (if he could still be called that) didn't understand him. Perhaps it was so long since he had been human he just didn't know how to empathise anymore. All he knew was computer and not computer. All he understood was programming and code.

"Just promise me you won't do it again? Please?"

The silence stretched out in the holodeck as both young men regarded one another.

"Ok, I promise" The image disappeared. Wesley sighed, still acutely aware of his friends presence all around him. Embedded in the core of every computer in this ship, and every other ship like it. He wondered how long that promise would last.

He wondered if he would one day die and join his friend in the system.

Wondered how long it would take him to forget his own face.

How long it would take to lose touch with humanity.

Pressing his hand to the wall Wesley went to unlock the door, before changing his mind and using the keypad instead. He was still human... for now.


End file.
